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23 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Powers and Responsibilities of LAs
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Provision of Services, Strategic Planning, Regulation and Community Leadership
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Provision of Services
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Mandatory (have to be provided). Permissive (may be provided, e.g leisure centres). Discretionary (LA can spend a limited amount of money on, e.g Christmas lights).
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Strategic Planning
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Long-term strategic planning framework which sets objectives based on the needs and priorities of constituents. Development of services, e.g green belts and road building.
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Regulation
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LAs regulate local businesses by granting them licenses, e.g taxi drivers and nursing homes.
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Community Leadership
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LAs take a lead role in issues cutting across responsibilities of different agencies, e.g social inclusion and community safety.
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Sources of finance for Local Government
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Scottish Government grant comprises 80% of an LA's budget. Fees for council services (e.g parking charges). Non-domestic rates (tax in businesses to LA). Capital Expenditure (loans). Council Tax.
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Finance of Local Government - RSG
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Revenue Support Grant (RSG) is given over 3 years. It makes up 80% of a council's budget so they are dependent on the Scottish Government. It's calculated by the Aggregate External Finance (AEF) taking into account factors such as population and deprivation.
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Finance of Local Government - Fees
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9% of LA spending - Social Work (day care), Education (school meals), Environmental Services (pest control), Cultural Services (libraries, museums).
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Finance of Local Government - Non-Domestic Rates
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Taxes on businesses within the area represented by the LA. Tax level is set by the Scottish Government (causes conflict), despite the fact that 18% of LA's spending is accounted for by this.
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Finance of Local Government - Council Tax
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Accounts for 13% of LA's spending. The level is based on the value of people's homes. The level is set by the LA, however, it can be 'frozen' at will by the Scottish Government, causing conflict.
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Finance of Local Government - Capital Expenditure
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LAs can also raise capital for the development of long-term assets with permission from the Scottish Government. Includes loans from banks, selling assets and applying for ERDF grants.
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Conflict - Best Practice
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Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 means that LAs need to strike balance between quality and cost. Scottish Government can step in if 'Best Practice' is not being carried out (e.g 2005 - Inverclyde Council was threatened with Scottish Executive takeover if they did not improve).
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Conflict - Finance
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Ring-Fencing, Gearing Effect, Council Tax Freezing, Quantity of Financial Support
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Conflict - Ring-Fencing
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Ring-Fencing (given money, but only allowed to use on specific things, e.g Free Personal Care for the Elderly).
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Conflict - Gearing Effect
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Gearing Effect (effect of restricting funding can be great, e.g 5% decrease in RSG = 20% increase in Council Tax).
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Conflict - Council Tax Freezing
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Scottish Government can freeze Council Tax levels. However, housing prices are increasing, which are what Council Tax levels are based on. Effectively, LAs are losing out on money.
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Conflict - Quantity of Financial Support
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LAs think they need more money to be able to carry out new programs and services on behalf of the Scottish Government (e.g Free School Meals). However, the Government thinks that LAs need to be more parsimonious and spend more efficiently and effectively.
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Cooperation - COSLA
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Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. Protects the interests of LAs in various areas. For example, COSLA helped make sure LAs were being represented when STV was proposed, and in 2007, they agreed a 'Concordat' Terms of Agreement with the Scottish Government.
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Conflict - Education
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Curriculum for Excellence left councils in a difficult position, as they had to put it in place with no extra funding or time.
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Conflict - Social Work
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2003 - Death of Caleb Ness, aged 11 weeks, prompted the Scottish Government to threaten intervention if the social work department did not improve.
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Conflict - Crime
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ASBOs - not all LAs agree with them, but the Scottish Government want consistent usage of them across all of Scotland.
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Conflict - Transport
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Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority (SPTA) sees transport as its responsibility and not of the Scottish Government.
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Cooperation - Council to MSPs
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Many MSPs started off in council positions, so a good relationship between LAs and MSPs is maintained.
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